Exodus 32 – The Golden Calf
The
people thought Moses was gone, probably had been killed. Since he was gone, they wanted to make idols
(gods) to lead them on the wilderness march.
Right away they lapsed into idolatry.
You would think Aaron, who was the high priest, would try to stop them,
but he did not. Aaron was supposed to be the spiritual leader in the absence of
Moses, but instead he gave in and let the people have their way. During that time earrings were a sign of
idolatry. Now they were bringing those
earrings to Aaron. Gross immorality was involved here. They have already departed from God after
they had told Him that they would keep all His commandments. God told Moses “I
knew you were a stiff-necked people.”
“Moses get thee down, for thy people that thou hast brought forth out of
the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.”
Moses told God, “You brought them out of Egypt, and You did it with a
mighty hand. The Egyptians would say that you were able to lead them out of
Egypt but not able to take them into the land.
They are Your people, Lord, you promised to bring them into the
land.” “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and
Israel; You made a promise to them.”
When Moses prayed like that, it moved the arm of God. If we were more honest in praying, we would
see more answers – that is more visible answers to our prayers.
The
children of Israel were having a good time.
They were worshiping the golden calf and living in sin. When Aaron was confronted with his sin, Aaron
blamed the people, Moses, and the furnace but he did not blame himself. On top
of that he lied. Sin is an awful cancer, and God uses extreme surgery in this
case by slaying those who were guilty. God in His grace forgives the sinner, but in
His government, He must punish the sin. The
judgment is serious and extreme. It had
to be that because there had been terrible sin. Once the guilty was slain, the
camp was cleaned up. If the men who had
led Israel into idolatry had been allowed to live, the nation would never have entered
the promised land. Israel had to remain
a separated people, or God could not work out His great purposes through them.
An
atonement covered up sin. If you want to get along with God, you will have to
agree with Him about sin. Sin is sin and
must be confessed. Tell God exactly what
it is. Moses said “I take my place with
the people. If you do not intend to
bring them into the land, then blot me out with them.” Those who did not sin in the idolatry of the
calf would be led by the Angel of God.
This should impress upon us the extreme importance of prayer.
J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary
No comments:
Post a Comment